It was truly strange to be heading up the road without knowing where I was going, except in a very general way. I had a vague idea that it would be interesting to drive up and look around the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.

As I approached Portland,Oregon, the traffic got heavier and heavier. I was squeezed over in the right lane and trying to avoid everyone. I was really nervous. All of a sudden the highway took off to the right, and I couldn't get over to go on north. (I learned that when going through a strange city, stay in a middle lane ... both to avoid the people entering the freeway, but also to avoid being caught in a turn-off you don't want! ) After a moment of panic, I realized that it really didn't make any difference, and drove on eastward.

There was a sign for the Columbia River and I remembered someone telling me that was a beautiful drive. What a happy piece of serendipity brought me to it! There were cliffs on either side of the river, with just enough room for a road between the cliffs and the river on either side. The wind was whipping in from the west and I realized i was getting TREMENDOUS mileage! Not much traffic here, so I dawdled along. Glancing in the mirror, I suddenly saw Mt. Hood behind me, the top glistening with snow, even in July! I pulled around a curve, and there were maybe fifty of those little surfboards with sails, like a cloud of butterflies, scooting over the river. As would happen many times, I lucked out and found a rest stop where I could park and see Mt. Hood to the west and the surfboard sailors in front of me.

Boy, this was what it was all about. I didn't have to "be anywhere", I just parked so I could watch out the back windows while I sat at my little table. I watched as the sun set, making dinner, sipping coffee ... seeing the little sails just flying back and forth across the river. ..finally dwindling in number as it turned to dusk. The last rays of light glistened from the mountain top. I felt as if I were in a little safe cave.

The wind rocked the RV as it grew stronger after dark. I looked through the books I had brought with me and gleefully pulled out "Sacajawea" by Anna Lee Waldo. If I remembered correctly, there was information about the Columbia River in it. I read the section about The River first and it increased my appreciation a great deal.